Tobacco Ban on Campus Takes Effect

All types of tobacco products and smoking devices are now banned on campus, including cigarettes, cigars and vaporizers.
The Board of Trustees held a meeting in Mar. 2013 in which they came to the decision to make Hudson Valley a tobacco-free campus.
Students have mixed opinions regarding the policy.
“I think it was a good thing because of two reasons. First, if someone walks by [someone smoking] with asthma or any other type of physical condition such as severe allergies, it could really cause serious problems. Secondly, this encourages students to quit smoking,” said Conner Lasch, a student at Hudson Valley.
“It’s a college campus and it’s hard to tell an adult not to smoke. It’s wonderful implementing it, but reinforcing is another story,” said Cynthia Hogwood, a nursing student.
“I think it’s a good policy, but I think it’s hard for people to just quit, especially heavy smokers who have to be on campus for seven to eight hours,” said Craig R., an Individual Studies major and a smoker.
“It’s a good policy but I think there should be designated areas,” said Joshua Maldonado, a Biological Science major and smoker.
“We have all kinds of rules for offensive behavior on campus. [There are rules regarding] the type of language we can and cannot use, [among others] which all together are meant to make the campus a nice place for all of us,” said John F. Kennedy, Associate Professor and Academic Advisor.
“I think that [the Board’s] intent was to make this campus comfortable and just enjoyable to all of us. One can’t be selfish. Everyone should be allowed to enjoy the campus,” said Kennedy.

Author: Paola Pelaez